ShopClues buys out Bengaluru-based startup Momoe

Picture source: ThinkStockOnline marketplace ShopClues, the newest member of the billion-dollar valuation club, has acquired Bengaluru-based startup Momoe as it looks to build a payments business.

The deal will also help ShopClues establish an office in the startup capital and all five Momoe founders are expected to join its senior management team across functions like design, corporate development and technology. The deal size is pegged at $10-12 million, with consideration being paid in both cash and stock. ETfirst reported about the deal on March 14.

“We got five very senior people in the company as a part of this acquisition, which is the most exciting part,” said Sanjay Sethi, CEO of ShopClues, while declining to comment on the deal size.

Two-year-old Momoe was founded by Utkarsh Biradar, Karthik Vaidyanathan, Ganesh Balakrishnan, Neelesh Bam, and Aiman Ashraf, mostly graduates of IITs and IIMs, and is present in Bengaluru. All five are joining ShopClues in senior management positions.

Biradar will join as vice-president heading design and product on the merchant side; Balakrishnan will lead platform monetisation and services; Bam will head merchant acquisition helping ShopClues expand base in South India; Ashraf will head technology for payment and Vaidyanathan will work on strategic initiatives with ShopClues cofounder Radhika Aggarwal. Besides the team, the deal will also help ShopClues kickstart a paysemi-closed wallet and solutions for merchants.

“Momoe comes with a working merchant base, PCI compliance which would have taken us 8-12 months to obtain and banking relationships. Building a payments business requires a different DNA,” said Sethi. Momoe’s technology will help ShopClues build payments solutions for its base of over 5,00,000 merchants, who can use it for not only online transactions but offline payments as well.

“Payments is a tough talent to acquire and Momoe’s team will help ShopClues monetise their large base of merchants by building payment tools for them which can add to their margins,” said Anand Lunia, co-founder of India Quotient.